Salton Sea

The Salton Sea is a shallow, saline, endorheic rift lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, predominantly in California's Imperial and Coachella valleys.

The lake occupies the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink in the Colorado Desert of Imperial and Riverside counties in Southern California. Its surface is 234.0 ft (71.3 m) below sea level. The deepest point of the sea is 5 ft (1.5 m) higher than the lowest point of Death Valley. The sea is fed by the New, Whitewater, and Alamo rivers, as well as agricultural runoff, drainage systems, and creeks.

Over millions of years the Colorado River has flowed into the Imperial Valley and deposited soil (creating fertile farmland) and building up the terrain constantly changing the course of the river. For the next thousands of years the river has flowed into and out of the valley alternately creating a freshwater lake, an increasingly saline lake, and a dry desert basin, depending on river flows and the balance between inflow and evaporative loss. The cycle of filling has been about every 400-500 years and has repeated itself many times. The latest natural cycle occurred around 1600-1700 as remembered by Native Americans who talked with the first settlers. Fish traps still exist at many locations and it is evident that the Native Americans would move the traps depending upon the cycle.

Salton Sea (disambiguation)

Salton Sea may refer to:

Places

Film

See also